2019 Field Trial Results: Part 1
Field Trial
Group 1

Field Trial
Group 2

Field trials of Use Cases Employing 5G Ultra-fastCommunication in Outdoor Environments
Field trials of Use Cases Employing 5G Ultra-fastCommunication in Mobile Environments
Takashi OKADA

Masanori Ichinose

Senior Manager
6G Laboratories
NTT DOCOMO, INC.

Senior Manager
Solution Services Division
NTT Communications Corporation

1. Introduction
As part of the FY2019 5G Comprehensive Demonstration
Tests (hereinafter referred to as “5G Field Trials”) initiative ofthe Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications[1], NTT
DOCOMO and NTT Communications have joined forces toperform field trials of use cases exploiting the benefits of 5G
communications[2]. Specifically, we performed an investigation oftechnical criteria relating to 5G mobile communication systems
that facilitate ultra-fast communication at an average of 4–8
Gbps in outdoor environments populated by many base stations
and terminals (referred to as use cases involving ultra-fast 5G
communication in outdoor environments), and an investigationof the technical criteria relating to 5G mobile communication
systems that facilitate high-speed mobile communication ataverage speeds of over 1 Gbps in mobile communication involving
many base stations and terminals (referred to as use cases involving
ultra-fast 5G communication in mobile environments). This
article introduces the main field trial results.

2. Field trials of use cases exploiting ultra-fast
5G communication in outdoor environments
Field Trial Group 1 NTT DOCOMO, Inc.:
Takashi Okada, Kentaro Fujii, Tomoaki
Minamida, Shunsuke Nakamura,
Yoshifumi Morihiro, Kensuke Takahashi,
Satoshi Suyama, Yukihiko Okumura
Of the field trials conducted in FY2019, we discuss here thefield trials conducted with partners regarding use cases where
5G ultra-fast communication is applied to the five fields shownin Table 1. The technical goal of these field trials was to achieveultra-fast communication at average speeds of 4–8 Gbps inoutdoor environments with multiple base stations and multiple
terminals.
2.1 Field trials of a real-time cloud editing/relay solution
using 5GIn December 2019, we conducted a verification trial in Sendai
City, Miyagi Prefecture using the 4.5 GHz band in DOCOMO’s 5G
pre-service area with a view to implementing a service that facilitates
video transmission and video editing over a 5G network during a live
event broadcast. In this field trial, 5G was used to seamlessly deliver
live video (about 24 Mbps) from four cameras at a remote outdoor■ Table 1: List of field trials
Utilization field

Use case

Frequencyband

4.5 GHz

Implementers/partners

Entertainment

Real-time cloud editing/relay
solutions*

NTT DOCOMO, Inc., Sendai Television, Sony Business Solutions

Offices/workplaces

Ensuring the occupational safety of 28 GHz
highly skilled workers*

NTT DOCOMO, Ehime University, Asakawa Shipbuilding, Sumitomo HeavyIndustries Transport Systems, Ehime Prefecture

Medicine

Advanced mobile telemedicine

4.5 GHzNTT DOCOMO, Wakayama Prefecture, Wakayama Medical University, Tokyo
Women’s Medical University

Smart House/Life

Traditional performing arts
instruction (distance learning)*

28 GHzNTT DOCOMO, CBC Creation, Chubu Nippon Broadcasting, CBC Television

Traffic

Supporting people with hearing
28 GHzimpairments by visualizing sounds*

NTT DOCOMO, Sun Electronics＊ Projects that won the top prize in the 5G Utilization Idea Contest held by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in 2018[3]8New Breeze Winter 2021

■ Figure 1: Field trials of a real-time cloud editing/relay solution using 5G■ Figure 2: Editing and switching at locations away

■ Figure 4: Field trials to ensure the occupational safety

event location, to transmit video for distribution without using largescale relay equipment, and to perform editing and distribution of
full-scale video content even at locations away from the broadcastingstation that has specialist equipment and software.
2.2 Using 5G to ensure the occupational safety of skilledworkers
In December 2019, we performed a field trials during slinging
work by a crane situated in Asakawa Shipbuilding in Imabari
City, Ehime Prefecture, to examine the possibility of using 5G
equipment operating in the 28 GHz band to relay high-definition■ Figure 3: Field trials to ensure the occupational safety using 5G

New Breeze Winter 20219video images of a blind spot to the crane operator’s seat in orderto create a safer working environment. In this field trial, 5G wasused to stably transmit 2K low-latency video images of the blindspot (50–60 Mbps) to a display installed in the operator’s cabin toprovide the operator with high-definition video images to ensurethat slinging work and crane operations could be performed moresafely. It is expected that this approach could be used to improve
the safety of crane operations in the shipbuilding industry bytransmitting video images of places that cannot be seen by theoperator, not only for viewing blind spots, but also for purposessuch as confirming the center of mass of loads carried by the crane.
2.3 Using 5G to deliver advanced remote mobile medical care
In January 2020, we continued with a field trial in Hidakagawa
Town, Wakayama Prefecture that had been started in FY2018 toexamine the potential for improving the quality of remote diagnosis
as a means of addressing the disparity between urban and rural
healthcare provision. In FY2019, in addition to the verification
trials conducted up to FY2018, we also used 5G wireless equipment
operating in the 4.5 GHz band to transmit video images from highdefinition cameras and medical equipment in a mobile medical
unit (“Hyper Doctor Car”) capable of supporting high-quality
diagnosis and treatment. We confirmed that the ability of 5G todeliver high-definition video images made it possible to perform
medical examinations together with specialists in remote clinics andeven in other mobile medical units. Doctors at university hospitals
were able to observe patients via 5G video just as clearly as if they

■ Figure 6: Medical equipment and a bed in a mobile
medical unit (“Hyper Doctor Car”)

were right in front of them, and reported that this new technology
constituted a major step forward from conventional systems. In thisdemonstration, we confirmed that mobile medical units can be usedto perform more advanced forms of diagnosis, and we expect thatthey will be able to improve the level of medical care available inmountainous areas.
2.4 Using 5G to support traditional performing arts (throughremote education)
In October 2019, a field trial was conducted in Nakatsugawa
City, Gifu Prefecture to connect a Kabuki master with multiple
Kabuki classrooms via 28 GHz band 5G wireless devices to■ Figure 5: Field trials to deliver advanced remote mobile medical care using 5G■ Figure 7: Field trials to deliver remote education using 5G10New Breeze Winter 2021

■ Figure 8: Providing guidance on performances while over a 4K two-way video linkprovide guidance on performances while over a 4K two-way
video link. We confirmed that four streams of live 4K video canbe transmitted simultaneously, and that it is possible to provide
remote instruction with such a level of reality that even small
details such as eye movements can be conveyed between teachersand students in Kabuki classes. Multi-point remote lessons areexpected to support efficient tuition regardless of location, making
them a suitable way of handing down traditional performing arts
skills that are in danger of being lost due to Japan’s dwindling andaging population. By providing greater numbers of people with theopportunity to experience Kabuki through television broadcasting
and the like, it is hoped that there will be a resurgence of interestin the art, thereby contributing to the revitalization of Japan’s
tourism industry.

2.5 Supporting everyday life by using 5G to visualize sounds
In October 2019, with the aim of providing hearing-impaired
people in Nakatsugawa City, Gifu Prefecture with new lifestylesupport services based on 5G wireless devices operating in the28 GHz band, we conducted verifications trials of a service thatdetects dangerous sounds in the vicinity and conveys them as visualinformation. This information is analyzed and presented to the user
via smart glasses. We were able to confirm that this system was able
to provide users with warnings and other content, including playing
back videos and 3D model data describing the danger, within one
second of detecting a dangerous noise. In addition to supporting
people with auditory impairments, we expect that this technology
could also be used in various other fields including entertainment asa means of displaying content in response to sounds.

■ Figure 9: Field trials to support everyday life by using 5G to visualize sounds■ Figure 10: Analyzing sounds in the vicinity and provide users with warnings

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■ Table 2: List of field trials
Utilization fieldUse caseFrequency
Implementers/partners
band
28 GHzNTT Communications, MIRAIT, Nagano Keikyu Country Club, Fujitsu,
NTT DOCOMOSportProviding on-course support for golfers*

Smart cities/areas

Subway safety assurance support*

28 GHzNTT Communications, Hanshin Electric Railway, ITOCHU TechnoSolutions, Fujitsu BSC, NTT DOCOMO

TrafficProviding driving assistance in dense fog*

4.5 GHzNTT Communications, Oita Prefecture, Autobacs Seven, Oita Prefecture Fog
Countermeasures Council, T Plan, NTT DOCOMO＊ Projects that won the top prize in the 5G Utilization Idea Contest held by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in 2018[3]3. Field trials of 5G ultra-high-speed
communication in mobile environments
Field Trial Group 2 NTT Communications Corporation:
Masanori Ichinose, Ichiro Nakagawa
Of the field trials conducted in FY2019, we discuss here thefield trials conducted with partners regarding use cases where 5G
ultra-fast communication is applied to the three fields shown in
Table 2. The technical goal of these field trials was to achieve highspeed communication at average speeds of over 1 Gbps in mobile
environments with multiple base stations and multiple terminals.

3.1 Using 5G to provide support on a golf course
In November 2019, we constructed a 28 GHz band 5G
communication area at the first hole of the Nagano Keikyu
Country Club in Nagano City, Nagano Prefecture, and weperformed a field trial in which AI was used to analyze videocaptured by a 4K 360° camera in order to estimate the landing spots
where balls came to rest, and to show the state of play as live video
on a next-generation display cart. With this system, we were able
to achieve stable transmission of live 4K video in an environment
with many connected base stations and terminals, even when the■ Figure 11: F ield trials to provide support on a golf course using 5G■ Figure 12: Field trials to provide support on a golf course12

New Breeze Winter 2021

next-generation display cart was moving. This system is expected tohave several benefits, including an improved play turnover rate dueto the ball landing spot estimation service, the ability to implement
alternative services where a caddy is not required, and the ability toprovide a service that attracts golfers from further afield.
3.2 Using 5G to provide subway safety assurance support
In January 2020, at Fukushima Station on the Hanshin
Electric Railway in Osaka, images from inside trains and fromstation platforms were transmitted via 5G to an AI analysis
server that automatically looked for people behaving abnormallyor entering restricted areas, and alerted station staff by sending

messages to their smart phones. We confirmed that this system
was capable of providing stable safety assurance support. In thisfield trial, train-mounted mobile stations were able to use the 28
GHz band to connect to the base station from a distance of about
300 m outside the line of sight, allowing video to be transmitted
before the train reached the platform. We confirmed that thismade it possible for station staff to deal with abnormal situations.
We also confirmed that abnormalities could be detected correctly
and reported to station staff without human intervention. It is
expected that this could be used as a safety assurance support
service to avoid dangerous behavior such as rushing towards anarriving train.

■ Figure 13: F ield trials to provide subway safety assurance support using 5G■ Figure 14: Field trials to provide subway safety assurance support

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3.3 Using 5G to provide driving assistance in dense fog
In February 2020, on the expressway in Oita Prefecture andat the Oita Dome stadium, we performed Japan’s first verification
trials of a driving support system that uses thermal cameras and4K cameras together with 5G transmission to allow the driverto check in front of and behind the vehicle even in fog with poorvisibility. For this field trial the fog was generated artificially, andthe video pictures from the vehicle-mounted thermal cameras

and 4K cameras were transmitted to a cloud-based image analysis
AI system, taking advantage of 5G’s high-speed, high-capacity
and low-latency characteristics to provide a head-up display ofobstacles to the front and rear of the vehicle. Based on the AIanalysis detection results, we confirmed that vehicles can be driven
safely by providing the driver with auxiliary information about
obstacles and the like that are difficult to visually confirm.

■ Figure 15: Field trials to provide driving assistance in dense fog using 5G■ Figure 16: Field trials to provide driving assistance in dense fog

4. Conclusion
We have introduced the field trials performed in FY2019 aspart of the 5G Field Trials initiative of the Ministry of Internal
Affairs and Communications (“field trials of use cases employing
5G ultra-fast communication in outdoor environments” and“field trials of use cases employing 5G ultra-fast communicationin mobile environments”). In the future, we plan to build on theexperience of these field trials to continue working towards therealization of diverse 5G applications.

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Acknowledgments
We would like to express our deep gratitude to the
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, our fieldtrial implementation partners, and other related parties for theopportunity to conduct these field trials.
References[1] Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications: “Field Trials to Start in 2019,” https://www.
soumu.go.jp/menu_news/s-news/01kiban14_02000390.html, Aug. 2019.
[2] NTT DOCOMO, “Results of Field Trials for the Ministry of Internal Affairs andCommunications in FY2019,” https://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/binary/pdf/info/news_release/
topics_200316_00.pdf, March 2020.
[3] Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications: “5G Utilization Idea Contest,” https://5gcontest.jp/, Jan. 2019.